The present invention relates to portable apparatus for supporting and stabilizing grocery bags and the like in an upright position, and more particularly to those devices which are adapted for use in transport vehicles.
The majority of today's shopping for groceries and sundry other items is done far enough away from home that it requires the use of a transport vehicle, be it car, van or truck. A shopping visit to the local supermarket will result in a bag or bags containing miscellaneous items, some breakable or just plain fragile. In any event, when bags are placed in the trunk of a car, on the seat, on the floor, in the bed of a truck, or on the floor of a van, they become subject to the movements of the vehicle when leaving its parking space. Even a slow speed cornering movement can cause them to tip.
Prior art of various constructions have addressed the problem of supporting grocery bags in an upright position while in transit. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,041 to Cook, et al., (1988); No. 4,718,584 to Schoeny (1988); No. 4,684,087 to Spickard (1987); No. 4,372,512 to Wolfe (1983); No. 4,305,519 to Gerich (1981); No. 4,029,244 to Roberts (1977); and No. 3,404,818 to Miscoe (1966) show various apparatus for restraining grocery bags or packages in vehicle cargo areas. While the foregoing patented devices may be sound in principle, they require time to set up or assemble and, although collapsible, or when disassembled, take up valuable space when stored. Thus, the present inventor was faced with the problems of designing a grocery bag stand that was truly portable and usable outside of a trunk or other designated vehicle storage area, such as the back seat, the floor area between van seats and other unobstructed spaces.